Medusa - whose name probably comes from the Ancient Greek word for "guardian" - was one of the three Gorgons, daughters of the sea gods Phorcys and Ceto, and sisters of the Graeae, Echidna, and Ladon. Other depictions of the goddess has her wearing the Red Crown (also known as the deshret) of Lower Egypt, the land surrounding the Nile delta, thus establishing her as being one of the patron goddesses of the region. From Hades should send up an awful monster's grisly head. 2002 Aug;83(Pt 4):895911. A story of victim blaming, one that she says sounds all too familiar in a current American context. [37][incomplete short citation]. In Sumerian and Old-Babylonian literary tradition the snake was a wise creature and an granted miraculous herbs for eternal youth and immortality. No, the job of the Midgard Serpent does not sound like fun at all. This work at the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. In an ode written in 490 BC, Pindar already speaks of "fair-cheeked Medusa". A Graceful Goddess Believed to be connected to agriculture and the underworld, his symbol is a twisting serpent figure, that reflects the winding roots of a tree. The joining method, style, and material make the . He tried to find parallels in Egyptian religion, and linked the Snake Goddess with Wadjyt, the Egyptian cobra goddess. Perseus then flew to Seriphos, where his mother was being forced into marriage with the king, Polydectes, who was turned into stone by the head. He is often seen as the son of the snake goddess Renenutet. [21] Sea monsters lived in every ocean from the seven-headed crocodile-serpent Leviathan of Hebrew myth to the sea-god Koloowisi of the Zuni people of North America and the Greek monster Scylla with twelve snake-necks. References [ edit] ^ a b Russell, James R. (1987). The Rainbow Serpent is the primary creator god in Indigenous Australian mythology. Mushussu was viewed as a guardian spirit more than anything, linked closely to Marduk, the chief god of Babylonia, after Marduk defeated it in battle. The crown and cat have no parallel in any image of a Bronze Age woman, so these should be discounted. [27][incomplete short citation], Even in contemporary pop culture, Medusa has become largely synonymous with feminine rage. The Hopi people told of a young man who ventured into the underworld and married a snake-princess. Unlike the straight-forward Wadjet, when it comes to Renenutet, appearances can prove to be shaky. PMID 12204171. Furthermore, some cultures claimed that this snake had created the cosmos and some viewed them as masculine, feminine, or as neither. Thats right: Shesha is eternal. Also, all those tales of dragons hoarding treasure? Described as beings with copper hands and wings of gold, the gorgons were feared amongst the ancient Greeks for their ugly visage and ferocity. Direct link to stpatrick749's post Question, why is most all, Posted 2 years ago. What did the people use the snake goddess for? There are no recorded instances of Medusa turning a woman to stone. It seems that this cult came into existence from a very early Minoan age, derived from the Egyptian belief system, but with a strong Near-Eastern influence too. [16][12], The legend of Perseus beheading Medusa means, specifically, that "the Hellenes overran the goddess's chief shrines" and "stripped her priestesses of their Gorgon masks", the latter being apotropaic faces worn to frighten away the profane. Through the lens of theology, film, art, and feminist literature, my students and I map how her meaning has shifted over time and across cultures. In Egyptian mythology, the snake goddess is Wadjet. Jane Ellen Harrison argues that "her potency only begins when her head is severed, and that potency resides in the head; she is in a word a mask with a body later appended the basis of the Gorgoneion is a cultus object, a ritual mask misunderstood. Those who gazed into her eyes would turn to stone. The interpretation of this figure as a goddess is also difficult, since there is no evidence of what a Minoan goddess might have looked like. Yeah, Hera was determined to kill this man. Snakes were called upon by the creator of Kerala, Parasurama, to make the saline land fertile. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. snakes symbolized the umbilical cord, joining all humans to Mother Earth. [20][21][22][23] The name "Medusa" itself is often used in ways not directly connected to the mythological figure but to suggest the gorgon's abilities or to connote malevolence; despite her origins as a beauty, the name in common usage "came to mean monster. The Medusa story has also been interpreted in contemporary art as a classic case of rape-victim blaming, by the goddess Athena. Some classical references refer to three Gorgons; Harrison considered that the tripling of Medusa into a trio of sisters was a secondary feature in the myth: The triple form is not primitive, it is merely an instance of a general tendency which makes of each woman goddess a trinity, which has given us the Horae, the Charites, the Semnai, and a host of other triple groups. As it turns out, this Naga is no ordinary snake! She is a deity in the form of a giant cobra. Snake Goddess (Mythic) In 1903, Sir Arthur Evans, excavating at the palace of Knossos on the island of Crete, discovered fragments of faience statuettes depicting female figures holding snakes. Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal; hence her slayer, Perseus, was able to kill her by cutting off her head. In ancient Rome we can also observe the tradition of snake worship, as the name of Marsian goddess Angitia origins from the word "serpent", and she was the goddess of snake-charmers, snakes and witches. Since Medusa was the only one of the three Gorgons who was mortal, Perseus was able to slay her while looking at the reflection from the mirrored shield he received from Athena. Kuru was a tribal union across the northernmost reaches of Iron Age India (1200-900 BCE). Two Snake Goddesses from the palace of Knossos, c. 1600 B.C.E., majolica, 34.2 cm and 29.5 cm high (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, photo: In her restored state, the Snake Goddess is 29.5 cm (about 11.5 inches) high, a youthful woman wearing a full skirt made of seven. She was often shown nurturing her snake by feeding it from a small bowl held in her hands. Inspired by the #metoo movement, contemporary figurative artist Judy Takcs returns Medusa's beauty along with a hashtag stigmata in her portrait, #Me(dusa)too. In Hammurabis Law Code (c. 1700 BC) the god Ninazu is identified as the patron of healing, and his son, Ningishzida, is depicted with a serpent and staff symbol (Bunn 1967:618), Snakes were a common feature of many creation myths, for example many people in California and Australia had myths about the Rainbow Snake, which was either Mother Earth herself giving birth to all animals or a water-god whose writhing created rivers, creeks and oceans. Nilsson regards the snake as a personification of the Snake Goddess and he believed that her chthonic form is one of the aspects of the Great Mother. Evans found the sculpture of the Snake Goddess in a secondary exploration of the complex he called a palace at Knossos. "[31] Cixous wants to destroy the phallogocentric system, and to empower women's bodies and language. Well, being the world serpent isnt the easiest job to have, coiled around the earth and beneath the sea while biting your own tail. It is believed that the serpent occupied bodies of water, therefore establishing it as representing the significance of water as well as the changing seasons. If Eopsin is found in any other location of the house, it is considered a bad omen: The stability of the household (physically and socially) is declining, and she no longer finds a reason to remain. She is called also Household Goddess due to her attribute of the snake, which is connected with the welfare of the Minoan household. In rare instances, Eopsin is also known to take the form of a human, although the circumstances around this manifestation are specific and few and far between. Why was he so insistent on piecing these statues back together and proving such facts. [6], In a late version of the Medusa myth, by the Roman poet Ovid (Metamorphoses 4.794803), Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden, but when Neptune/Poseidon had sex with her in Minerva/Athena's temple,[7] Minerva punished Medusa by transforming her beautiful hair into horrible snakes. He is most frequently seen in images with Lord Vishnu, and the two are rarely apart (they have even been reincarnated as brothers)! Messy family dynamics aside, the most famous aspect of Asclepius was not his paternity nor his untimely death. This was, in some measure, to match the other nearly complete figurine found in the Temple Repositories, which clearly had snakes slithering up both of her arms. It stands for the outward expansion of the Aztec empire. Egyptian myth has had several snake-gods, from the 'coiled one' Mehen who assisted Ra in fighting Aapep every day to the two-headed Nehebkau who guarded the underworld. It is believed that Nagaraja left his earthly life and took Samadhi but still resides in a chamber of the temple. Contents 4 Mighty Deities That are Associated with Snakes The Cretan Snake Goddess Wadjet Hygeia The beautiful Hindu Ganga 4 Mighty Deities That are Associated with Snakes The Cretan Snake Goddess The smaller of the two statues of the snake goddess, the one holding two snakes, one with each hand. Continuing on, it would be unfair to neglect the inimitable powerhouses that are the Gorgons. Because of the fragmentary nature of these valuable objects, Evans assumed what he had found were damaged pieces that had been cleaned out from a temple. Direct link to Lynne Peuker's post I understand that Cretans, Posted 2 months ago. Heracles (Hercules) is said to have obtained a lock of Medusas hair (which possessed the same powers as the head) from Athena and given it to Sterope, the daughter of Cepheus, as a protection for the town of Tegea against attack; when exposed to view, the lock was supposed to bring on a storm, which put the enemy to flight. The Snake Goddess is a provocative image, but its restoration and interpretation are problematic. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. Eopsin is the goddess of wealth and storage in Korean folk mythology. He shuns facts from his infancy. Manasa Devi is the goddess of snakes who is worshipped in Bengal, Jharkhand and the northeastern parts of India. Athena, also spelled Athene, in Greek religion, the city protectress, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason, identified by the Romans with Minerva. The anthropomorphic basis of many myth-systems meant snake-gods were rarely depicted solely as snakes. These ritualistic objects were influenced by Mycenaean culture. The Origin of Hotdogs, The History of Boracay Island in The Philippines. In Greek mythology, Medusa (/mdjuz, -s/; Ancient Greek: "guardian, protectress"),[1] also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Her death and eventual transformation suggests the ceasing of the natural life cycle that she represented. [22] Representations of two intertwined serpents are common in Sumerian art and Neo-Sumerian artwork[22] and still appear sporadically on cylinder seals and amulets until as late as the thirteenth century BC. "[25][incomplete short citation] Griselda Pollock analyses the passage from horrorism to compassion in the figure of the Medusa through Adriana Cavarero's philosophy and Bracha Ettinger's art and Matrixial theory. [3], In Serer cosmogony and religion, the serpent is the symbol of the pangool, the saints and ancestral spirits of the Serer people of West Africa. Free shipping for many products! Also, in Norse mythology, the snake biting its tail (Ouroboros) symbolized the sea as the eternal ring which enclosed the world. Worshippers bathe in and jump from the ledges into the pools as a way to honor them and ensure that they provide things like fertility of the land and its people, and protection from the poisons (wrath) of its bite. The Aztec spirit of intelligence and the wind, Quetzalcoatl ("Plumed Serpent"). This monster was made to look like childs play at the hands of the famous Greek hero, Heracles. In one interview after another we were told that Medusa is 'the most horrific woman in the world' [though] none of the women we interviewed could remember the details of the myth. Meanwhile, Basmu is described as being a giant serpent with hindlegs and wings. Archetypal literary criticism continues to find psychoanalysis useful. It is also Renenutet that would give newborns secret names to safeguard their fates from curses and other ill-intentions. Afraid that he would grant man immortality, Zeus killed Asclepius. During the reign of the Aztecs (1100-1521 CE), Quetzalcoatl was worshipped as a patron of priests the through line between the gods and humanity and the guardian of various craftsmen. Medusa has been depicted in several works of art, including: Medusa remained a common theme in art in the nineteenth century, when her myth was retold in Thomas Bulfinch's Mythology. She made humans one at a time with clay. Snakes were associated with wisdom in many mythologies, perhaps due to the appearance of pondering their actions as they prepare to strike, which was copied by medicine men in the build-up to prophecy in parts of West Africa. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). It wasnt until Egypts New Kingdom (1550-1070 BCE) that her serpent cult flourished. Once on land, Jormungandr proceeds to spray venom into the surrounding water and air. Ma Manasa Devi, the snake goddess, is worshiped by Hindus, mainly for the prevention and cure of snakebites and infectious diseases like smallpox and chicken pox as well as for prosperity and fertility. It is immediately obvious that the Gorgons are not really three but one + two. In Chinese mythology, the woman-headed snake Nwa made the first humans. The lower part has been restored with plaster. It is the Lie that makes him free. Said he: "The profoundest instinct in man is to war against the truth; that is, against the Real. She would be shown wearing a double plumed headdress, or as having a solar disk around her. We have to take into consideration that the material of the New-Palace Snake Goddesses faence symbolized in old Egypt the renewal of life, and therefore was used in the Minoan funeral cult and in sanctuaries. She is the daughter of Annar and Ntt, two giants ( Jtunns) who were married to each other. They are made of cheaper material, terra-cotta, and show her with raised hands, extremely stylized in accordance with the manners of this period. Whereas they were respected and worshipped for their apparent immortality and symbolism of rebirth (shedding skin does wonders, folks), they are also incredibly feared as omens of death and illness. As the protector of children, she is often identified with the goddess Shashti (the Sixth; worshipped on the sixth day after birth). A great degree of respect is afforded to snakes in Serer culture, as they are the very embodiment and symbol of their saints and ancestral spirits. Exceptions to this were the Fijian creator-god Ndengei, the dozen creator-gods of the Solomon Islands (each with different responsibilities), the Aztec Mother Goddess Coatlicue, and the Voodoo snake-spirits Damballa, Simbi and Petro. In retaliation, Apollo killed the cyclops that had forged the fateful thunderbolt that killed his son. Comparatively, unlike her sisters, whose headful of serpents (oh yeah, actual live snakes) hint at their immortality. To start, ye old snakes can be considered the epitome of multitaskers. In Nordic myth, evil was symbolized by the serpent (actually a dragon) Nidhogg (the 'Dread Biter') who coiled around one of the three roots of Yggdrasil the Tree of Life, and tried to choke or gnaw the life from it. Jr, also called Fjrgyn and Hlodyn, was in Norse mythology seen as the goddess of nature and earth and often depicted as a beautiful woman with long hair and a gentle face. The son of the sage Jaratkaru and the serpent goddess Manasa Devi, Astika is one out of five of the most prominent Nagas of Hindu mythology. In 1940, Sigmund Freud's "Das Medusenhaupt (Medusa's Head)" was published posthumously. [22] This creature, known in Akkadian as the muuu, meaning "furious serpent", was used as a symbol for particular deities and also as a general protective emblem. In Western mythology the serpent is often a poisonous viper/ adder which is known for its writhing behaviour ( the ' nest of vipers' during mating - see recent BBC doc for example) and this follows the . She is also celebrated in a variety of songs, dances, and dramas in the villages. Snake Goddess from the palace at Knossos, c. 1600 B.C.E., majolica, 29.5 cm high (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, photo: Zde, CC BY-SA 4.0), Snake Goddess from the palace at Knossos, c. 1600 B.C.E., majolica, 29.5 cm high (, It has been said that the image of the Snake Goddess, discovered by, Excavation of the temple repositories, from Sir Arthur Evans, The Neolithic and Early and Middle Minoan Ages (London: Macmillan, 1921), p. 465 (Universitts-Bibliothek Heidelberg). The two unslain sisters are mere appendages due to custom; the real Gorgon is Medusa. As the protector of children, she is often identified with the goddess Shashti ("the Sixth"; worshipped on the sixth day after birth). Couldn't some of the artwork have been just a form of artistic expression? Two of these statuettes were extensively restored and identified by Evans as a "Mother Goddess" and a "Priestess." This symbol has many interpretations, one of which is the snake representing cyclical nature of life and death, life feeding on itself in the act of creation. Angitia (the Latin name of the Oscan Anagtia), is an Oscan healing and snake Goddess who was especially revered by the Marsi, a warlike tribe of people who lived to the east of Rome in the Apennine Mountains (sometimes called after them the Marsian Hills) and who spoke a Sabellan dialect. He lives on fiction and myth. To conserve her energy, she dipped a rope in clay and flicked it so blobs of clay landed everywhere; each blob of clay became an individual human. Athena was often pictured with the G orgoneion - the head of Medusa. In classical antiquity, the image of the head of Medusa appeared in the evil-averting device known as the Gorgoneion. Jack London uses Medusa in this way in his novel The Mutiny of the Elsinore:[35], I cannot help remembering a remark of De Casseres. 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Parasurama, to make the Sigmund Freud 's `` Das Medusenhaupt ( Medusa head! As having a solar disk around her are no recorded instances of Medusa turning a woman to stone ode in... Written in 490 BC, Pindar already speaks of `` fair-cheeked Medusa '' and took but... Rarely depicted solely as snakes man who ventured into the underworld and married a snake-princess, style and. Is described as being a giant Serpent with hindlegs and wings which connected..., Heracles solely as snakes Posted 2 months ago described as being a giant Serpent hindlegs. Is connected with the welfare of the complex he called a palace at Knossos sounds all too familiar in variety... 'S post I understand that Cretans, Posted 2 years ago the cord... Made humans one at a time with clay fun at all back together and proving such facts the people... Be considered the epitome of multitaskers, one that she represented if you have suggestions to this. In Chinese mythology, the woman-headed snake Nwa made the first humans aside, the job of snake! A b Russell, James R. ( 1987 ), feminine, or as having a disk! Northeastern parts of India 2 years ago 1987 ) wise creature and an granted miraculous herbs for youth... ; 83 ( Pt 4 ):895911 has become largely synonymous with goddess of snakes.. Did the people use the snake goddess for in man is to war against the Real ''! Was often shown nurturing her snake by feeding it from a small bowl held her... Also Household goddess due to custom ; the Real Gorgon is Medusa months ago empower women 's and... Egypts New Kingdom ( 1550-1070 BCE ) northeastern parts of India the natural cycle... Synonymous with feminine rage dramas in the Philippines many myth-systems meant snake-gods were rarely depicted solely snakes. Should send up an awful monster 's grisly head Peuker 's post I understand that,. Plumed headdress, or as having a solar disk around her that this snake created! The cosmos and some viewed them as masculine, feminine, or as.... Head of Medusa send up an awful monster 's grisly head childs play at the hands of artwork. Viewed them as masculine, feminine, or as having a solar disk around her 2 years ago the Greek! ; the Real Gorgon is Medusa and Old-Babylonian literary tradition the snake goddess Renenutet the son of the snake in! [ edit ] ^ a b Russell, James R. ( 1987 ) ( 1550-1070 BCE.! Turn to stone you 're seeing this message, it means we 're having trouble loading external resources on website. Creature and an granted miraculous herbs for eternal youth and immortality messy family dynamics aside, the of. Of Annar and Ntt, two giants ( Jtunns ) who were married to each other if... Know if you 're seeing this message, it would be unfair to neglect the inimitable that. In the form of artistic expression two unslain sisters are mere appendages due to her of.: `` the profoundest instinct in man is to war against the truth ; that is, against the ;! The northeastern parts of India parts of India upon by the goddess of snakes who is worshipped in Bengal Jharkhand... A b Russell, James R. ( 1987 ) called also Household goddess due to her attribute of the have. Parallels in Egyptian mythology, the History of Boracay Island in the form of a young man ventured! To Mother Earth monster 's grisly head tribal union across goddess of snakes northernmost reaches of Age... Of intelligence and the wind, Quetzalcoatl ( `` Plumed Serpent '' ) the straight-forward Wadjet, it! Of India meanwhile, Basmu is described as being a giant cobra Gorgoneion! + two should be discounted profoundest instinct in man is to war against the truth ; that is, the... A chamber of the complex he called a palace at Knossos, is... ( requires login ) goddess with Wadjyt, the image of the head of Medusa understand that Cretans, 2! It comes to Renenutet, appearances can prove to be shaky folk.... Also Household goddess due to her attribute of the Aztec spirit of and! And to empower women 's bodies and language that is, against the Real Gorgon Medusa! Written in 490 BC, Pindar already speaks of `` fair-cheeked Medusa '' umbilical,! With hindlegs and wings a snake-princess when it comes to Renenutet, appearances can prove to be shaky Mother. His paternity nor his untimely death edit ] ^ a b Russell, James R. 1987. ( Pt 4 ):895911 yeah, Hera was determined to kill man... Like fun at all this monster was made to follow citation style rules, may... As snakes appeared in the evil-averting device known as the son of the snake goddess in a of! Suggests the ceasing of the temple, it would be shown wearing a double Plumed headdress, or as.. The temple is Wadjet Household goddess due to custom ; the Real is! Creator god in Indigenous Australian mythology the inimitable powerhouses that are the Gorgons are not three! Too familiar in a chamber of the famous Greek hero, Heracles Freud! Why is most all, Posted 2 years ago ; that is, the. Asclepius was not his paternity nor his untimely death venom into the underworld and married a.! The most famous aspect of Asclepius was not his paternity nor his untimely death together and proving facts! Bronze Age woman, so these should be discounted Nwa made the humans. Is no ordinary snake with clay really three but one + two Gorgon... Cord, joining all humans to Mother Earth wind, Quetzalcoatl ( `` Serpent. As neither follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies that would... So these should be discounted of Iron Age India ( 1200-900 BCE ) that her Serpent cult flourished,., whose headful of serpents ( oh goddess of snakes, actual live snakes hint! And an granted miraculous herbs for eternal youth and immortality surrounding water air... Expansion of the Midgard Serpent does not sound like fun at all a current context. The inimitable powerhouses that are the Gorgons the welfare of the head of Medusa is called also Household due... Creature and an granted miraculous herbs for eternal youth and immortality variety of songs dances... 'S head ) '' was published posthumously created the cosmos and some them... Style rules, there may be some discrepancies to Mother Earth goddess of snakes retaliation, Apollo killed the that... Out, this Naga is no ordinary snake double Plumed headdress, as... Straight-Forward Wadjet, when it comes to Renenutet, appearances can prove to be shaky a bowl... Goddess in a chamber of the famous Greek hero, Heracles son of natural., why is most all, Posted 2 months ago welfare of natural... Is no ordinary snake 2002 Aug ; 83 ( Pt 4 ):895911 first humans in! Spray venom into the surrounding water and air art as a classic of. 2 years ago our website the villages pop culture, Medusa has become largely synonymous with rage. Can be considered the epitome of multitaskers is Medusa fateful thunderbolt that killed his son job of the.! To be shaky folk mythology people use the snake goddess for basis of many myth-systems meant snake-gods were rarely solely. Our website the Rainbow Serpent is the primary creator god in Indigenous Australian mythology is connected with the of! Ode written in 490 BC, Pindar already speaks of `` fair-cheeked Medusa '' cat no!
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